Permaculture was born in the 70s as part of the ferment and questioning of the times  - why can't we do something better?  Many were seeing what is obvious now, that modern industrial society is in serious trouble, and this is increasingly impacting our environment and our lives.  Much energy was dedicated either to participating in industrial growth culture or protesting against it.

On each PDC, we begin teaching design work on day two! After students choose their designs, they are put into teams and then learn how to draw accurate maps or base plans from which to work throughout the rest of the course.
Each day the designs are developed as students develop their skills  based on the teaching from the day and plans are developed until the final evening they are presented to the group as a whole and others from the wider community. We cover the design process (day 2 and 3) climate and land form (day 4) water (day 5) etc, etc...So that more complexity may be added to the designs as we undestand more about how to assess the site. 

So we’re on a mission to see if we can design and implement an urban garden ( 200sq m)  that can provide a family of 4 something close to the levels of Vitamin A and calcium Weston Price found in all indigenous people’s diets that he visited in the 1920’s and 30’s. It is my understanding, from our own experience that if we cover the Vitamin A and calcium most other minerals and vitamins are taken care of. For an intro to this project click here

Kay Baxter 2012

As part of the Koanga Institute’s research program regarding relationships between human health, soil health, plant health, and animal health, we have come to the realisation that if we wish to be eating nourishing food that maintains our DNA for the long haul, we need to follow the principles or ‘Laws of Nature’ around how energy becomes matter, how we grow and maintain health, and how our plants and animals grow and maintain health.